Administrators who spent time this year retiring their last computers running Microsoft Windows XP might have another migration task ahead -- Microsoft is set to retire its Windows Server 2003 operating system next July.

Microsoft execs are fond of the term "people-centric IT" -- it's their way of saying that workers are using whatever devices they want to, and are using them at home, on the train, in a hotel, on the beach, while skiing.... You get the idea. But IT needs a way to at least make sure this explosion of user choice does not put corporate data at risk.

The pending launch of Windows Server 2012 release 2 focuses on offering a number of advanced capabilities in storage and networking, which used to require the purchase of additional software, or even a full-fledged storage system.

Microsoft today is showing off improvements to most of its enterprise infrastructure software designed to make it simpler for businesses to deploy hybrid cloud services that can allocate resources as needed.

Microsoft is updating a number of its IT infrastructure and development tools to work more seamlessly with its Azure hosted cloud services, including Windows Server, System Center, Visual Studio and SQL Server.

Rolling out a new server OS such as Windows Server 2012 doesn’t have to be a struggle for the IT department. Two of Microsoft's Australian customers talk about their deployment and future technology projects.

Hailed as one of Microsoft's broadest, deepest releases, Windows Server 8 will replace the current version of the OS, Windows Server 2008, in 2012 about the same time the new companion desktop OS, <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/windows-8-the-infoworld-deep-dive-report-177372">Windows 8</a>, is released. Microsoft has a broad set of goals to reach with this release, such as cloud compatibility and automation of routine tasks across multiple machines. The new release also benefits from Microsoft's work building out its own Azure cloud service. Many technologies developed for the server were tested in the cloud, and many technologies developed for Azure were then imported back to the server.

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